OCEANSIDE: City prepares to repeal housing ordinance

Replacement measure would use incentives for builders

Oceanside City Council members took initial steps Wednesday to
repeal the city's inclusionary housing ordinance, under which
developers pay a fee that goes toward providing housing for low-
and moderate-income families.

The vote was 3-1 on a proposal by Councilman Jerry Kern to
instruct city staff members to return to the council in 90 days
with a measure to repeal the inclusionary housing ordinance and
replace it with incentives to encourage builders to voluntarily
provide affordable housing.

Councilwoman Esther Sanchez voted against repeal with Councilmen
Jack Feller, Gary Felien and Kern supporting it. Mayor Jim Wood was
absent. Sanchez, as deputy mayor, filled in for Wood at the council
session.

Wood became ill last week while leading a city delegation to
Washington, D.C., and said he would return later this week after
spending time with family members in the Washington area.

Kern said his proposal would "go from a tax-based system to an
incentive-based system." He said he didn't want to do away with the
affordable housing program, but find a better way to do it.

Sanchez said repealing the ordinance is "just giving more money
to an industry, the building industry, for their pockets."

So far, Kern said, the city has only built 241 affordable
housing units through its inclusionary housing program.

"I bet in the next ten years, with incentives, we can build more
than 241 units," Kern said.

The housing ordinance was adopted in 1991 and requires
developers who build more than three units to include low or
moderate housing in their projects or pay a fee.

The amount of the fee is determined by a formula based on the
median income and housing prices, but it has been frozen at $10,275
per unit for several years. A committee formed by the council in
2007 is recommending the fee remain at that level.

Committee Chairwoman Kay Parker asked the council to delay
action on Kern's proposal until the committee could present its
recommendations to the council in March. She said the committee
included a developer, a member of a building trade organization and
housing advocates.

"We would be most grateful if you could take that input first,"
said Parker, who also chairs the city Housing Commission and was
presented with the city's 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. Community
Service Award by the council Wednesday.

Kern said the committee report would be out before the council
makes a final decision on repealing the ordinance.

Under state law, cities must have some program for providing
affordable housing, Neighborhood Services Director Margery Pierce
said, but it doesn't have to be an inclusionary housing
ordinance.

The inclusionary housing ordinance was "our largest resource for
providing affordable housing," she said, adding that it "has
brought millions of dollars and (many) jobs into Oceanside."

Pierce said the city's affordable housing program targets
families making between $40,000 and $60,000 a year. She said the
median income for a family of four in the area is about
$75,000.

Felien said he supported repeal because it would give a boost to
the building industry.

"It takes a first step to revive an industry that is flat on its
back," Felien said. "There's another set of forgotten families, and
those families are the ones who benefit from homes being
built."

Kern questioned the need for the ordinance because he said 80
percent of housing units in some city neighborhoods is
affordable.

Chris Megison, chief executive officer of the nonprofit
Solutions for Change, said Kern's suggestion was "a direct threat
to the health and well-being of Oceanside families." Solutions for
Change provides housing for formerly homeless families.

Several people at the meeting who said they had been homeless
but found a place to live through affordable housing programs urged
Kern to reconsider.

"Many families can suffer from this and can end up homeless like
I did," said Liliana Kuchinsky. "We're not asking for a handout.
What we're asking for is some help to get back on the right
track."

San Diego Building Industry Association Chief Executive Officer
Borre Winckle said inclusionary housing was a "failed" policy that
increased the need for affordable housing by driving up home costs.
He said the fees are passed on to buyers and renters.

"New home buyers or market renters pay the fee without any gain
or benefit," Winckle said.

BIA Vice President Russ Haley said repealing the ordinance would
help a depressed industry.

"We need to kick-start our economy. We need to kick-start out
industry," Haley said. "We're not building any housing right
now."